Welcome to my Green Kitchen where my aim is to cook chemical-free food, in season grown either by myself or purchased locally in season…it is also to minimise waste…

Produce which has just come into its season has far more taste than produce which is forced and grown out of its natural season …I also think it is the anticipation and the taste of the first of the season’s crops…those first root vegetables…are sublime! or those first strawberries there is nothing quite like the first strawberry of the season!

In the Northern Hemisphere September is probably the most abundant month in the vegetable garden. Summer crops, such as salads, tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers and runner beans are still highly productive while autumn crops such as apples, pears, squash, and leeks are nearly ready for harvesting.

If you are in the Southern Hemisphere:  here is a roundup of vegetables and fruits ready for harvest during September artichoke, asparagus, beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, celeriac, celery, Chinese cabbage, kale, lettuce, parsnip, peas, purslane, radish, rhubarb, Swiss chard (silverbeet), spinach…

I have mentioned previously my concerns over food shortages and was reading this post a few weeks ago…a post from one of my US readers…I think we all need to be aware wherever we are in the world and take heed of what may be affecting us very soon and take steps to address it rather than wait and see…we can never have too many vegetables…

There are news stories that tomatoes and products made from tomatoes will be in short supply in the United States this year, until the next tomato harvest. Depending on if the drought continues for another year, it may be expensive to purchase tomatoes and tomato products.

Can we grow tomatoes inside during the winter? Yes, we can!

https://amtolle.com/2022/08/24/tomatoes-in-winter/

Two new food editions to my kitchen stores this last month have been Indian Bay Leaves and Nduja…both of which were ingredients I haven’t used before and the Indian bay leaves I didn’t know existed I thought a bay(laurel) leaf was a bay leave and that was it…I had no idea they had completely different flavour profiles…They definitely do and will be a permanent addition to my spice collection…That’s what I love about cooking…it is also why I believe we should be inclusive and learn about other diets and cultures it certainly enriches our lives and knowledge plus we get to experiment with new flavours…some we may not like and some may be a real discovery and one which we can integrate within our own culinary repertoire…it doesn’t get better than that does it?

Nduja…apparently it is pronounced ” un-DOO-ya ”  it has really enthused me and I have found lots of lovely recipes for Pasta, bread and sauces/pastes made with this beautiful spicy sausage…all of which I will share with you…Chicken, Pineapple and Nduja Bake was the first recipe I cooked using this lovely spicy paste…

I can’t believe we are in September already nearly time to make the Christmas puddings and cakes…it has to be done…those I will share in October’s Green Kitchen but for now given some food shortages it may be as well to start gathering your ingredients like dried fruits, flour, and treacle just in case the prices rocket or there are shortages…

After arriving home from my trip to the UK, it has taken me a few weeks to get back into the swing of cooking…while there I sampled some lovely Chilli Jam that I have finally gotten around to making some…after I had realised I couldn’t get jam sugar here so would have to get some pectin as chillies and bell peppers don’t have a lot of this natural setting agent some fruits have…For example, apples, carrots, oranges, grapefruits, and lemons contain more pectin than cherries, grapes, and other small berries with citrus fruits containing the most pectin.

When it comes to summertime stone fruit, pies are often the first thing to come to mind, but jam made with peaches, plums and apricots is just as delicious and lasts much longer. Naturally rich in pectin and high in acidity, these fruits make for a jam with rich textures and the best balance of sweet and tart. When choosing your fruit, look for pieces that are just ripe rather than overly ripe, as stone fruit tends to lose pectin and acidity the older it gets.

Chilli Jam…(Nigella Recipe)

Ingredients:

• 150 grams long fresh red chilli peppers (deseeded and cut into 4 pieces)
• 150 grams red peppers (cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks)
• 1-kilogram jam sugar
• 600 millilitres of apple cider vinegar

Let’s Cook!

You will need 6 x 250ml / 1 cup sealable jars, with vinegar-proof lids, such as Kilner jars or re-usable pickle jars.

Sterilize your jars and leave them to cool.

Put the cut-up chillies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over low heat without stirring.

Scrape the chilli-pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring the pan to a boil, then leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes.

Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools.

After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle into your jars. If you want to stir gently at this stage, it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.

This first attempt went well…I like Nigella’s recipes as they are easy to follow and her measurements/ratios are accurate and the recipes are obviously tried and tested…

I couldn’t find jam sugar here and managed to find powered pectin online…if you use liquid or powdered pectin then follow the instructions on your bottle or packet…

I opted to use raw sugar as the granules were larger and that makes for better clarity of your jam…of course, some chilli seeds found their way into my jam…lol…and apart from increasing the cooking time to 20 minutes I followed the recipe exactly…

MAKE AHEAD:
Make the jam up to 1 month before using or giving. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Once opened, store in the fridge and use within 1 month.

This jam is lovely in a sandwich or with cheese however as I like hardboiled eggs as a snack It is lovely with some chilli jam…who knew…lol

Kitchen Waste…Did you know that 22k tonnes of leafy salad is thrown away every year in the UK alone that is in monetary terms 64 million pounds…

Just because your bag of leaves in your fridge is wilting it doesn’t mean it can go in the trash…give wilted leaves a new lease of life by blitzing them into a sauce, a pesto, green goddess sauce or Chimichurri…all of these keep well in the fridge just check each individual recipe for how long and blitz a batch to keep on hand…

Chimichurri…

Very finely chop 1 red or green chilli, half a small onion, 20g of mixed salad leaves and 15g of fresh mixed herbs for example parsley, coriander and oregano…Mix together in a bowl and add 3 tbsp of wine vinegar, 75 ml of good olive oil plus a pinch of sugar and season well.

Serve with griddled steak, fish or roasted vegetables…if you keep this sauce covered it will keep on the fridge for 4-5 days if it lasts long mine never does it is gone in a flash…

Have you grown these or tried these…

This fruit has made its first appearance on my daughter in laws farm…I haven’t tasted it yet but the little I have found out so far is it’s a rare fruit I’m guessing what is known as a backyard fruit…It grows naturally in the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, and New Guinea, but more widely in Malesia and in the Cape York Peninsula Australia…I am told it has a sharp, sweet-sour taste but have yet to find out much more…

Thank you for joining me in my Green Kitchen as always I look forward to your comments next month “Spoiler Alert” there will be a bread recipe using Nduja…but before that, there will be another veggie recipe on Tuesday instead of chicken for my veggie readers…Carol x